


The Hand of Fate

by FuzzyBeta



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), ROTBTD - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012), RiseOfTheBraveTangledDragons, Tangled (2010)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Disney/Dreamworks, Gen, Guardians - Freeform, Multi, Other, RotBTD, Spirits, Supernatural - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 02:26:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15939875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuzzyBeta/pseuds/FuzzyBeta
Summary: When Pitch Black plans to escape his prison in the Dark Kingdom, it’s up to Jack Frost to stop him. But who’s Pitch’s dangerous new ally, and what secrets is she hiding in her mysterious tower? With the help of a witch, a dragon rider, a bounty hunter, a human thief and some vampires, will Jack stop Pitch in time, before its too late? A RotBTD adventure (rated T) Jack/OC





	1. It was a dark and stormy night...

_Stories come in all shapes and sizes. Some are short and sweet. Some long and winding roads with many a twist and turn._

_The story I'm about to tell you is a story of danger, fate, destiny, mystery, fear, adventure, romance, friendship. It's a story about many people all different and unique in their ways. Some may be good, some may be called evil, and there are some who lie in the grey area in between. All had vices; all had virtues._

_But look beyond the surface, and you'll find that all of them will agree, this journey transformed them. For if there is one thing more powerful than anything else in the world it's the power of change._

_So…how to begin?_

_This story is one with many beginnings that happened at many different times. Yet all of them end the same way, and start on a_ _**dark and stormy night…** _

* * *

Rain splattered down onto the forest floor, turning the dark dirt into slimy brown beneath the tiny feet of a little girl.

She was but a small thing, dirty, already covered from head to toe in dirt and soot, even as she all but waded through the wet mud. Tears streamed down her face, and she snivelled and shook from the howling winds. It was frigid, icy cold and the loud claps of thunder were of no comfort either.

Needless to say, she was relieved when she finally reached her destination, a small outcrop of rocks under which she quickly hid, clutching at herself to ward off the Goosebumps on her arms. But for all the good it did she might as well have done nothing at all.

The little girl squeaked as lighting flashed and crackled in the sky, lighting her hiding spot with a blinding flash.

But it wasn't the lightning that had frightened her. It was the dark shadowy figure that it had illuminated.

Tall, with pale skin, claw-like hands, long dark hair, blood red eyes and a mouth open as it panted for breath, revealing a pair of long pearly white fangs that dripped blood.

The little girl screamed.

* * *

The large bedroom was deserted. All was quiet, except for the rumblings of the massive storm that raged outside. There was nothing to worry about.

And so it was with the gentlest of touches that a young mother with long brown hair bent down to kiss the top of her sleeping baby's head of already long bright golden hair.

"My dear, is everything alright?" a man's voice grumbled sleepily, as the woman finished tucking her little one's blankets around her.

"Yes, Darling. I was checking on her."

The man smiled at his wife as she settled down beside him in the bed with a yawn. "Goodnight my love."

"Goodnight" the man shut his eyes.

It wasn't long before the two of them fell into a deep slumber. A few feet away beside the bed, their baby also slept soundly, her long golden hair splayed out around her face like ribbons of sunlight that glimmered faintly even in the dark.

It was almost as if it possessed a light of its own, one which cut through the dark shadow that suddenly loomed over the foot of her cot.

"Finally," An old raspy voice hissed into the darkness as a wrinkled and gnarled hand reached for the child's golden locks, while the other held up a pair of cruel looking scissors.

"Flower gleam and glow." The voice hummed quietly as it took a lock of the child's hair which had begun to glow brightly like the sun.

"-Let your power shine." the claw-like hand suddenly turned smooth and young and healthy as it opened the scissors in it, and cut.

"-Make the clock re-ah!" the shadow recoiled as the pale, smooth hand suddenly reverted into its bony elderly claw.

Its owner looked down into the baby's crib, gasping aghast as one of the baby's beautiful golden curls suddenly turned a warm dark brown.

There was a rustling of cloth, and the shadow quickly turned to see the figures in the bed starting to stir from their sleep.

It was no use; it would have to risk it.

With a swoop of its dark cloak, the figure swept the baby into its arms and rushed towards the window. It could hear the frantic yells of the child's parents behind it as fear and panic roused them from drowsiness.

But even as they reached the open window, it was too late as the shadow had leapt out into the dark and stormy night.

* * *

A large black shape flew under the dark cloudy night skies, roaring with every howl of wind or clash of lightning. It was a magnificent creature, with great big batlike wings and a long tail. Upon its back, another much smaller man sat protected by his helmet and armour from the torrential downpour that hammered down upon them from above.

"Whoa! Easy bud, easy!" the figure yelled as a rogue gust of wind unsettled his dark steed. "We're almost there just hang on."

The creature below him growled irritably, its great big green eyes narrowing grumpily.

"Yeah-yeah I know. I hate this storm too" his rider rolled his eyes empathetically as he leaned down to pat the side of his thick neck. "Let's just find a clear space to la-whoa!"

The rider and his steed both reeled backwards in alarm as something white-hot suddenly streaked towards them. They dodged it quickly, only to have two more suddenly loom up out of the dark lands below them.

"Flaming arrows?" the rider gasped as his steed veered a sharp left. From this angle, he was able to catch one of the first few arrows that had been shot as it started to fall back down to earth its tail accidentally flicking out and catching another flaming projectile as it zoomed up into the air.

The rider looked down at the arrowhead, which was steaming as the rain quickly snuffed out its red fire. On the sharpened piece of metal, he could make out a rough engraving of something that looked somewhat like…

"A bear?" he frowned.

There was a sharp twang, and another two flaming arrows zoomed straight up towards both the rider and his steed, who once again was swift to dodge…but not fast enough.

The burning smell of cloth suddenly filled the air.

The rider looked back at the dragon's tail and gulped as he saw the makeshift sail he'd fitted onto it sizzle into nothing but ash.

"Oh crud"

* * *

It was dark in the bedroom of Jamie Bennet as he and all his friends sat around a small lamp, surrounded by rolled up pieces of brown paper and boxes of marshmallows and smores. It might not have been a campfire, but it was as good as Jamie was going to get unless his mom allowed him to camp outside.

"-But even as Jimmy walked right up to the door…it opened with a loud  _Creaak!_ "

A couple of children giggled as Jamie made a loud creaking noise, only to fall silent as a strange chill suddenly slid up all their shirts.

"…Jimmy could hear his footsteps over the floor. His heart was pounding. This was it; the ghost was here, he could feel it." Jamie grinned delighted with his rapt audience, not noticing the sizeable dark form sneaking up behind him as he continued with his story.

"-but what he didn't know was that the ghost of the Corpse Bride was-"

"BOO!" a voice suddenly shouted as a pair of cold, pale hands suddenly grabbed the boy's shoulders.

All six of the children screamed in fright and jumped back into the shadows as the owner of the hands cackled joyfully. His laughter was so light that even the children started giggling as he leant forwards to ruffle a pouting Jamie's hair.

"Jack!" He groaned, as the pale white-haired, blue-eyed face of Jack Frost was illuminated in the light of the lamp.

"Sorry bud, ha! Couldn't resist"

"But I was almost at the best part. Besides, I thought it was Pitch's job to scare people?" Jamie folded his arms crossly.

"Oh, Jamie! Me? Like Pitch? How dare you? Why good sir I demand satisfaction, for you have dealt me with such a wound-" Jack clutched at his heart dramatically, making all the kids giggle again.

"Speaking of Pitch. What happened to him after you and the Guardians beat him last year?" A tall girl with short red hair and wearing green pyjamas, and a larger girl with dark hair and bright pink nightdress both looking interestedly at Jack who sighed and ran a hand through his white locks.

"Honestly Pip, I don't know. Last North said Pitch was imprisoned somewhere far away from here and he's not been able to escape since."

"Then why do people still get nightmares?" A dark-skinned boy in blue pyjamas asked as his friend with blonde hair and nerdy glasses nodded fervently beside him.

"Yeah, a few nights ago I was at my aunt's house, and my younger cousin woke up from a horrible nightmare and wouldn't leave us alone till we agreed to let her sleep with us."

"Really. I better ask Sandy to check in on her then" Jack muttered frowning to himself as he turned to face the children "Listen, guys, we may have defeated Pitch, but that doesn't necessarily mean we've destroyed fear."

"So, you're saying we'll still get nightmares" the large girl in pink mumbled sadly.

"No-I mean yes but…ugh! I'm saying this all wrong" Jack crossed his legs and brought a large crooked staff over his lap. "Listen to me Cupcake; fear is not evil. It's just an emotion; it's a part of being human. Now Pitch, on the other hand, he's just a guy who uses fear for evil, but that doesn't mean that all fear is bad. It's just a feeling."

"Not a very nice feeling" Pip grunted, and the others all nodded in agreement.

"No, it's not. But that's why you've got the Guardians." Jack grinned with a wink "It's our job to teach you guys to face fear so that when Pitch or someone else tries to use fear on you, you can fight it and win."

_If Bunny could hear me now, he'd never let me live it down._

Jack smiled to himself as he saw all the other children's faces suddenly light up as, all at once they started bombarding him with questions about the other guardians, none of them noticing the brief shadow that flickered over the surface of the moon outside the window.

* * *

"Finally! You've returned. What news?" A voice hissed into the darkness of the great room. It was large and dark, and underground for all the walls was made of dark grey stone. The only source of light came from a moonbeam that fell through a tall barred window set high in one of the walls and the dark sculpture of the earth's globe which was lit up by tiny golden dots of light all over.

High behind this globe, a tall, thin man sat in long jet-black robes that matched his slicked back hair, drumming the tips of his fingers against the arm of his throne of white bones.

"Say that again" he snarled, his voice as slick as a serpent hiss as the shadowy form of a horse quickly shifted beside him.

"The witch is with us, my lord."- it whispered to its master – "If you would grant her the use of some of her servants for the protection of her lair-"

"Miserable old wench. Haven't I given her enough power already?"

"She said she is grateful for the assistance Lord Pitch, but would feel more assured of her position if her domain were better protected from the hunters. It appears Lord Dracula has decided to increase security and it is making her nervous."

"Why? What has she to hide from him apart from our arrangement?" Pitch wondered curiously, but the dark shadow horse just pawed the ground nervously.

"We do not know my lord. She keeps the entrance to her tower most secure with many a spell. But there are rumours that Lord Dracula has another witch in his service-"

"Are they strong? Powerful?" Pitch's eyes narrowed.

"We do not know my lord" the dark horse bent its head. "All we do know is that she is in the service of Dracula. She must have some formidable strength or else he wouldn't have chosen her to join his servants in their hunts."

There was a silence as Pitch digested this piece of information.

After about a minute or so he silently swiped his hand at the dark creature beside him. With a horrific screech, it crumbled into a pile of black sand, which he swirled absentmindedly as he contemplated his situation further.

"It's no use. I must risk it" he muttered angrily at the tall barred window high above. Through it, he could see the light of the moon shining brightly from the heavens, as pure and white as a feather.

"You may think you have me imprisoned here in this pit" Pitch snarled at the moon. "But just you wait. I will escape, and I will have my revenge. You mark my words."

The moon merely glimmered faintly in the stormy night sky.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we have it, chapter one of the Hand of Fate. I had uploaded this chapter and story before but then deleted it to make some major changes and re-edit it. It is a ROTBTD fanfiction, however, if you are looking for it on FF, you will probs find it under the ROTG/Tangled crossover category as it leans heavily on those two fandoms.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed and please review if you'd like to see more.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> FuzzyBeta


	2. Start the Clock

The keeping of the time is an important duty, one which could not be left unchecked or unmonitored at any time. Time is always moving and ever changing like water running continuously through a stream…

Or sand flowing in an hourglass.

It was such an artefact that an ancient man in hooded grey robes was standing before, his bushy white eyebrows set in a frown as he stroked his fingers through a short white beard.

He had been staring at this hourglass for a very long time, though whether it was for hours or minutes, no one could tell. For in the clock-tower of Old Father Time, time itself stood still while the rest of the world thrived on outside.

Finally, after a minute that seemed an age, he reached out and took the hourglass in his hand carefully keeping it right way up so as not to disturb the sands flow.

It was an odd hourglass, made of silver and embedded with small moonstones set into the frame around the clear glass, in which ash fell gracefully down into the lower bulb.

"hmm…now let's see" Father Time muttered as he looked up to one of the highest shelves.

On it were five other hourglasses all different colours and marked uniquely to match their charge.

They, like the silver glass, were flowing with particles that matched the colours of their frames (red, green, pink, gold and blue). But instead of the specks and particles falling to the bottom, they just circulated back through the small funnel back up into the top bulb, so that lines of bright colour glimmered in-between the bulbs like little laser beams.

Not like the hourglass in his hands, in which the ashes were dropping and settling to the bottom…and not flowing back up.

Father Time's already pale face turned the colour of parchment.

Quickly looking around the room, for the shelf he'd gotten the silver hourglass. Right beside it was one made of bright gold, encrusted with pink gems and engraved with the symbol of the sun. Its golden sand was also only flowing in one direction downwards.

"Oh dear," he muttered worriedly, as he made to snatch that hourglass as well, holding it tight with the silver one as he dashed about the shelves. If two were already changed, how many more would be here that he didn't know about?

In the end, he was only found two more hourglasses with the same problem. One was made of dark wood with Celtic carvings and minuscule dark blue beads of sand dropping down into the lower bulb, while the other was cast in dark iron with a red dragon emblazoned on the top and leaf green dust falling inside.

"You must be kidding me?" Father Time cursed as he laid the three timers on his desk at the far end of the large room. He scowled as he watched all four hourglasses sift the sand from one bulb into the lower one.

"Four of them at once? Are you sure? It seems a bit radical…after all one was only chosen last year." he turned his head towards the window above through which he could see a full moon.

It twinkled down at him.

Father Time sighed.

"They aren't going to like this…"

He quickly rushed back to a desk that sat in an ample space between the tall shelves, reaching out deftly for a strange pipe like contraption which he all but barked into gruffly.

"Haddock! Haddock! Yes, that's right you boy! My office now and step on it! Just my ruddy luck-" the old man grumbled as he put the pipe back into place and sat behind his desk.

Frowning, he glanced at the hourglasses which he quickly swiped off the table and hid beside his feet. Then he promptly began scribbling with a quill on a long thin strip of parchment.

He had just about finished writing when amidst the shelves a tall shadow suddenly came running, or instead, hobbling quickly along with a small mechanical clunk.

"You called Father time?" a slightly nasally younger male voice asked.

"Yes. I need you to run an errand" Father Time grunted brusquely as he rolled up the parchment into a small tight scroll and slipped it into a small cylinder.

"Now? But I'm kinda in the middle of forging those new gears for the-" the figure faltered as his boss glared him down. "Uh…I suppose the gears could wait."

Father Time sighed.

"I will have Waverly oversee the gears. In the meantime, I need you and your overgrown salamander to fly to the North Pole. Take this with you."

He tossed the tube at his lackey who caught it quickly, the frown evident in his voice.

"It's a pretty small scroll…Why not just use Terror mail? Or you could call him on your-"

"NO!" Father Time yelled, and the figure jumped.

"No" the old spirit repeated as he tried to calm himself down.

When he spoke next, his voice was low and grim.

"It's too dangerous. Too many shadows are lurking about these days. You never know who might be listening." Father Time looked around nervously as if he expected said shadow to jump out at any minute.

When it was evident that they were quite alone, he leaned forwards with narrowed eyes.

"Please my boy, you must trust me on this. The less said, the better until the coast is clear. Just give the scroll to Nick and stay with him until I give the word"

"What as a bodyguard?"

"No as an emissary" Father Time scoffed "Honestly boy, they're the Guardians they don't need bodyguards. No, you will be representing me at the council they'll most likely hold when they read this note."

"Right…okay…sure. An emissary for a meeting with the Guardians about an unknown danger you won't tell me about. Yeah, how hard could it possibly be?" the shadow deadpanned and Father Time's scowl deepened.

"Get on with it! You're running out of Time!"

"Y'know that's kinda ironic considering you're-" his new emissary started to say only to bolt off quickly as his boss yelled:

"OUT!"

* * *

**Transylvania, October 19** **th**

The car was dark and large, the windows tinted so that only the blur of trees and wilderness could be seen in its reflection as it sped along the long winding road.

Inside the car, three people were panting. The two in the front seats were twins, both tall dressed in dark clothes that stretched over their strong forms, with red hair and long faces. One of them had an eyepatch was carefully inspecting a large briefcase as his brother drove with a scowl. Behind them in the back passenger's seat, a leaner man sat, with brown locks and a small beard over his handsome face.

He was busy on a small smartphone, occasionally glancing up at the window to check out the view outside.

"Wow!" he exclaimed as there came a break in the vast forest beside them. Through the gap he could see a great sloping and rising mass of green, decorated with small blots of buildings here and there. In the distant mountains, he could vaguely make out a castle peeking out from one of the green tree covered slopes.

"I could get used to a view like this. Hold on, yep. I'm used to it. Guys, I want a castle." the man sighed ignoring the glowers from the twins in the front.

"We finish this job; you can buy your own castle" the driver sneered, as he checked the rear-view mirror.

"What is it?" his brother beside him scowled.

"Nothing." The driver grumbled. "Just checking."

"For what? We lost the feds  **ages**  ago." The man in the back grinned widely as he sprawled over the back seats. "Hey, can you guys picture me in a castle of my own? Because I certainly can. All the things we've seen, and it's only eight in the morning. Gentlemen it's a very big day!"

He pumped his fist up into the air enthusiastically, only for his grin to fall as the two brothers stared blankly back at him in the rear-view, before turning their attention back onto the road.

The man in the back shrugged and slouched down even further in his seat.

They could pull as many sour faces as they like, he thought a castle would suit him just fine.

_Now if only I could get my hands on that briefcase-_

He glanced at the briefcase in question, a wicked little smirk blooming over his handsome face as the twin with the eyepatch leaned back to toss it into the seat beside him.

_Oh yeah, come to papa…now how to get out of this car…_

* * *

The day was overcast over the largely hidden valley and its lone resident tower. It was always dark, for rarely did the sun ever shine through the clouds at any time of year, Summer or Winter. Only at night would the clouds ever truly clear, but it was still a rule that once the dawn approached so too would the grey sheet once more.

And yet within the tall tower, summer and spring seemed to reign supreme. For all over its walls were bright paintings of flowers, maidens and the sunshine. There were even night scenes in blue of clear starry nights and bright heavens above.

It was before one of these paintings that a maiden was sitting, paintbrush in hand, staring up at her handiwork.

She was a pretty maiden, with beautiful bright green eyes and wearing bright pink and purple dress over her petite, delicate frame. But what was her most striking feature was her hair for it was over seventy feet long mass of gold, slithering all over the tower like a huge boa-constrictor.

Some of it hung from the rafters while a lot of it was piled on the floor, all in one big mass of sun-like gold in the dim light of the grey morning.

"This is it. This is a big day, Pascal. I'm finally gonna do it. I'm gonna ask her!" the girl looked down at her shoulder where a tiny green chameleon was perched.

Pascal chirruped happily, quickly scuttling into her hair and around to her other shoulder.

The girl giggled only to gasp in delighted surprise as a distant woman's shout echoed up through a large window.

"RAPUNZEL! LET DOWN YOUR HAIR!"

"It's time" Rapunzel grinned giggling again as Pascal puffed his chest out proudly "I know. I know. Now come on before they see you."

She quickly deposited her little buddy behind a pair of curtains just as the woman's voice from before shouted once more:

"Rapunzel! I'm not getting any younger down here!"

"Coming mother!" Rapunzel smiled, and with a flick of her long hair, she slung it out the window and over a hook attached to the roof.

At once the mass of gold fell down the length of the tower. Its shiny tips barely brushed the ground before a tall feminine figure wrapped in a black cloak, who took hold of it quickly, turning back to someone standing just behind them in a heavily patched up, very faded dark red cloak alongside a robust white horse with a golden mane.

"Take that beast to the stables and take the stairs." the woman snapped, and at once the figure nodded, shoulders hunched.

"Yes, Gothel." A feminine voice grunted beneath the red hood of its cloak.

"What did you say?" the woman, Gothel's eyes narrowed and the figure sighed.

"Yes,  _Mother_. Come on Maximus"

_Yay! They're both back!_

Rapunzel almost squealed as with great massive tugs she heaved on her long rope-like hair.

Slowly but surely her mother began to rise and up, while the other person and her white horse disappeared into a small stable set at the foot of the tower.

"Hi! Welcome home mother" Rapunzel panted as after a long haul, her mother, Gothel finally hopped through the window.

She was a tall woman with dark hooded eyes and long curly black hair streaked with grey. Her dress was a deep crimson and stood out starkly from her pale skin and the rest of the bright and cheery wall paintings. She smiled as she greeted Rapunzel with a warm smile.

"Ah, Rapunzel. How you manage to do that every single day without fail. It looks absolutely exhausting darling" Gothel stroked her hair lovingly.

"Oh…it's nothing" Rapunzel panted.

"Then I don't know why it takes so long. Oh-hahaha darling I'm just teasing" her mother chuckled patting her on the head, just as a door behind them opened.

Through it the worn figure from below entered, shaking off their hood to reveal a young woman, only slightly taller than Rapunzel. Like Mother Gothel, she had dark hair, though hers was more like dark grey charcoal than raven black. Her skin too was grey and pale with fatigue. She wore a dark grey peasants shirt under a black leather corset and pants under her faded and patched brown cape. Her cheeks and neck were covered in freckles, and her steely grey eyes were tired as she made to unstrap a bag from her back and put a very tall staff to the side.

It was made from dark wrought iron and had a large now empty torch bracket at the top and a spear-like point at the bottom, which she was careful not to scratch the floor with as she carefully wedged in the corner of the room.

"Sera!"

Despite her fatigue, she managed to muster a warm smile as Rapunzel all but dashed into her arms.

"Rapunzel" Sera sighed patting her pink shoulder as they pulled apart only to find her hand stained with dark blue. "You've been painting again?"

"uh-hehe, yeah… sorry" Rapunzel smiled apologetically, though her excitement was very quick to take hold of her as she blurted out. "How are you? Did you meet any new creature-ooh-ooh what was the hunt like this time?"

"Dangerous and tiring as per usual" Sera grunted as she ran a hand through her grey mop. "Had a run in with a rogue Ogre. And then I had to rough up a Nokk to get him to give back those gold coins he stole from-"

"Yes-yes I'm sure it's all frightfully exciting" Gothel rolled her eyes as she hung up her black cloak on a nearby coat stand "But first don't you go bathe in your room. Wash off the stench from that miserable forest before dinner, and then you can tell your sister all about your  _little_  adventures."

"Of course, mother" Sera nodded quietly, sparing her "sister" a small smile and a tiny wink. "I'll tell you about it tonight."

Rapunzel giggled delightedly and let her sister trudge off back towards a set of stairs.

As she ascended, Sera looked back down on her mother and sister, a glare adorning her features as she watched Gothel swat her sister away and instead ask her to sing instead.

Rapunzel was only too happy to comply, much to her sister's dismay.

"If only if you knew…" she whispered, as her sister quickly dragged her mother to her chair, shoved a tough hairbrush in her hands and sang in a hurried rush:

"flowergleamandglowletyourpowershinemaketheclockreversebringbackwhatoncewasminehealwhathasbeenhurtchangethefatesdesignsavewhathasbeenlostbringbackwhatoncewasminewhatoncewasmine!"

"Rapunzel!" Gothel cried out in alarm as she quickly began brushing at the hair which instantly glowed as bright as the sun.

With a small smirk, Sera reached out lazily to one of the long stray locks of gold that hung over the railing, feeling a rush of energy fill her as the golden glow shot straight through each of the strands. Sera sighed as she stretched out her shoulders. It might not relieve the stench of the forest, but by moon did it take away those aches and pains in her back and joints.

Meanwhile below, Gothel's hair was now a rich dark black, and her crow's feet had vanished behind a youthful pale face that started in surprise as her younger daughter launched herself at her excitedly.

"So mother, earlier I was saying that in a couple of weeks it would be pretty hectic and you didn't respond, but I'm just going to say its Hallows Eve in two weeks! TADAA!"

"No-no-no-can't be. I distinctly remember all Hallows Eve was last year" Gothel smirked playfully.

"Well that's the great thing about Hallows Eve it's kinda an annual thing" Rapunzel giggled, though she twiddled her fingers nervously as she sighed.

"Mother…It's been a long time since I…I wanted to ask-Agh! What I really want to do for Hallows Eve this year, actually what I've wanted to do for many-many years-"

"Rapunzel please stop with the mumbling" Gothel huffed irritably, earning a narrowed set of eyes from Sera above.

"You know how I feel about the mumbling, Blah-blah-blah blah-it's very annoying-I'm just kidding you're adorable I love you so much" she pinched Rapunzel's pink cheeks affectionately before turning to glower up to the stairs.

"And you, Seraphina. Bath! Now!"

"Alright! Alright, I'm going" Sera huffed as she pushed aside the black curtain slash makeshift doorway to her room, only to pause as her sister promptly burst out:

"I want to see the floating lights!"

Gothel paused mid-step, eyes wide.

"You what?"

_Rapunzel…what are you doing?_

Sera tiptoed back to the railing, ducking so that her mother wouldn't catch her. Below, Rapunzel had climbed up onto the large mantelpiece throwing aside a large curtain to reveal another one of her paintings.

This time, it was one of her sitting on the top of a great tree, looking up into the night sky where various orange blobs of light floated above her head, along with a great big full moon. Below the tree line, a great river wound its way through the green, also illuminated by tiny dots of light floating along the surface.

Sera had to hand it to her sister; she had outdone herself this time. However, her awe was quick to vanish as soon as she heard the next words escape her sister's mouth.

"Oh well…I was hoping you'd take me to see the floating lights this year."

"Oh, you mean the stars" Gothel smirked, only to be astonished once more as her younger daughter lassoed a long lock of hair and opened a small window in the ceiling.

"There's the thing. I've charted stars, and they're always constant. But these, they appear only on Hallows Eve, mother. Only on Hallows Eve. And sometimes I can't help but feel…that they're meant…for me." She looked back at Gothel with pleading eyes. "I need to see them mother, and not just from my window. I need to know what they are."

"You want to go outside. Why my little flower, my little sapling, just a little sprout. You know why we stay up in this tower? That's right, to keep you safe and sound here. And besides, I'm not going to be here this Hallows Eve. It would be too dangerous to go alone-"

"Okay then what if Sera took me?" Rapunzel countered swiftly not missing a beat "She knows the forest like the back of her hand, and she knows how to fight. I'd be safe with her. Plus she can usually get a day off on Hallows Eve -"

"And what if she can't?" Gothel frowned sternly, shutting the large window she'd entered through with a hard snap. "Who will you go with then, hmm? You won't have a horse, no provisions and no weapons to defend yourself with. Are you just going to clumsily traipse around the forest and become a snack for the ogres?"

"Ogres?" Rapunzel gulped.

"Oh yes." Gothel sneered mockingly "They're big mean and scary. And then there's ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, cannibals and snakes oh-the plague!"

"No-"

"Yes!"

"But-"

"-Also large bugs, men with pointy teeth and stop no more, you'll just upset me!" Gothel fake swayed with fright on the spot, delighting in her daughter's continuously paling face.

"Go ahead get trampled by a rhino! Go ahead, get mugged and left for dead. Me? I'm just your mother, what do I know? I only bathed and changed and nursed you. So, go ahead and leave me I probably deserve it. Let me die alone here, be my guest-"

"No mother-"

"When it's too late, you'll see just wait-"

"Mother that's not what I meant!"

"I know darling I know." Gothel suddenly smiled, her tone warm and soothing as she straightened up. "Don't worry. Mother understands, mother's here to help you. All I have one request."

She opened her arms and sweet innocent and now very guilty faced, Rapunzel, ran straight into them, hugging her tight.

"Rapunzel"

"Yes," Rapunzel gulped.

"Don't ever ask to leave this tower… _Again._ " Gothel's voice was low and dangerous as she stroked her daughter's golden head of hair.

Rapunzel bit her lip, desperately tempted to say no, only to fail at the last second at the sight of her mother's stern face.

"Yes, mother."

And at once the dark spell was broken, and Gothel sighed in relief.

"Oh, I love you very much, dear."

"I love you more" Rapunzel murmured.

"I love you most." Gothel pecked the top of her head gently, quirking a brow "But don't forget, no matter what you may hear, or wish to do, mother always wants to keep you safe, because as always mother-"

"-Knows best." Rapunzel finished softly.

"Exactly" her mother smirked triumphantly, only to scowl as something squawked above their heads.

"Mother, a raven's here!" Sera called out from her room "Must be the new orders from the castle!"

"Take the message! And then clean up!" Gothel snapped waspishly.

"Already on it!" Sera yelled back, as she detached the scroll from the black bird's foot. At once the bird quickly took flight, flying up through the small open circular window in the roof.

_That's odd. Lord Dracula doesn't usually send a personal message with his own Sigel. Whatever these orders are they must be important._

She thought as she quickly slipped into her room.

The walls were grey, with large dark tapestries lining the walls, and a dark wolfskin rug on the floor. The bed by the lone window was small and hard, with thin covers and one fur. In the corner of the room was a small wooden desk on which many scrolls and papers were strewn haphazardly amidst a whole set of beakers and glass lab equipment and a small pewter cauldron. Up against the left wall, were shelves filled with books, glass bottles of liquids, powders and herbs, while weapons and hunting gear decorated the far-right wall under a high arched window. The only splash of colour seemed to be the domed ceiling which was painted a bluish black starry sky, with thin lines between the stars showing off each of the constellations. Also attached to the roof was a golden clockwork model of the solar system, connected to a collection of pullies and levers all arranged in one corner of the room.

It was under this endless night sky that Sera set down her staff, unravelled her scroll and swept her eyes across it, her eyes growing wider with every word.

When she reached the end of the note, she sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.

"Great. Just perfect. Just what I needed. First that damned Ogre and now this."

She quickly stepped outside of her bedroom and almost ran headlong into her mother who had been passing by with a basket of washing.

"Ow- Sera!" the older woman cried out harshly, only to stop at the grim expression on her face.

"The orders from Lord Dracula. Says to fortify our territories. Fearlings have been sighted in the northern forests."

"Fearlings? But there haven't been any Fearling sightings for three centuries." Gothel scoffed, but she seemed unsure.

Sera handed her mother the paper.

"Fearlings spotted at Northern Valley. Forest paths no longer safe." Gothel read aloud "All hunters assemble at the castle tomorrow midday to receive new orders. Use the main roads and DO NOT venture into the forest alone. If you should see a Fearling do not engage. Fortify your homes and place protective enchantments if possible. Signed Damphir."

"I guess that means we'll both have to report in tomorrow," Sera grumbled.

"No. Only  _you_  have to report in tomorrow." Gothel snorted as she rolled up the scroll again. " _I_ will stay here, fortify this tower and the surrounding areas.  _You_  will go and report in for duty for both of us. And Rapunzel will stay here as she always does-"

"And always will if you have anything to say about it" Sera muttered under her breath.

Gothel spared her a dark and dangerous look.

"What was that dear? I didn't quite catch that."

"Nothing mother. Nothing at all" Sera quickly smiled, her grey eyes grim and tired as she slipped back into her rooms, Gothel's withering glower on her back.

_Nothing I'm not already used to_

Sera rolled her eyes to herself as she quickly shed her clothes, lips curling as she caught sight of her freckled back in the mirror…along with several long thin scars.

* * *

_Darkness…_

_That's the first thing he remembered seeing…_

_Darkness and cold…_

_Intense cold so biting his bones felt like lead in it._

_But it wasn't the chill that made him frightened to his core. No. It was the thought that he was alone in it._

_Then…as if the darkness could sense his fear he felt its grip harden around him and something drag him up slowly through the icy water and towards…towards something bright…_

_His eyelids slid open, and suddenly his body was filled with warmth as a light shone down upon his face…_

_It was a silvery light. Bright and warm a light which seemed to have a shape…the shape of someone-_

"Jack!"

Jack Frost opened his eyes.

He was thin but tall for his age, with a faded blue hoody and tattered brown pants that covered his skin which was so pale that it was almost as white as his head of snowy hair. He was so pale that the icy blue eyes seemed to glisten like two bright glacial crystals in the snow as he looked about himself.

He was still sitting in the tall branches of the tree he had decided to sleep in. It was broad and sturdy and quite high up off the ground, where something large and furry was standing, tapping their large rabbit feet impatiently.

"There you are Frostbite. What the bloody hell have you been doing?"

"Bunny!" Jack sighed with relief as the Easter Bunny, E. Aster Bunnymund made to scowl.

"Don't take that tone with me mate," the pooka waggled a boomerang in Jack's direction. "North's summoned us for a meeting, and you're a no-show."

"What meeting?" Jack drawled lazily, enjoying the way his fellow guardian growled irritably.

"Yeah, an emergency one. Something about Father Time or Pitch or something I don't know. Either way, North's going nuts, so you better have a good excuse ready for him when I heave your sorry frozen backside back to the Pole."

"Ooh! I'm so scared" Jack sniggered, his laughs turning into cackles as Bunny's ears flattened dangerously "Okay-okay Bunny I get it. I'll come, don't get your cottontail in a twist."

Bunny's whiskers bristled as his scowl deepened.

"Be glad I've got my hands full ya cheeky Gumby" he growled under his breath his big rabbit foot tapping at the earth beneath it.

At once a large hole appeared in the ground.

"Well, are you coming or not?" He hissed at Jack who quickly stifled his chortles behind his hand.

"Right! Right! emergency meeting" he coughed but then grinned crookedly at his colleague "Let's go, Scrooge!"

And with that he promptly jumped down the hole, leaving Bunny to leap after him, yelling loudly:

"OY! I AM NOT A SCROOGE!"

But even as the two guardians jumped down the rabbit hole (which sealed itself shut of its own accord, leaving only a small blue flower in its wake), the moon dimmed and the night sky about it darkened ever so slightly.

* * *

"It's the cops!"

"Shit! How did they find us?"

"Hey, don't look at me! I didn't call them-"

"Quick we better ditch the car. Run through the forest. They'll have a harder time on foot."

_They'll have a harder time? More like we'll be dead before tomorrow by the hands of some bear._

"Crap" a handsome dark-haired man in brown jeans, brown boots, a white shirt and a blue vest jacket huffed as he and his burly red-haired twin companions finally paused for breath.

"I-I think we lost them" the twin with the eyepatch puffed hands on his knees as he bent over double.

They'd been running for what seemed like hours. Their getaway car had long since been abandoned by the side of the long road, and now their precious cargo was stuffed into a brown leather satchel which they took in turns to carry.

Currently, it was in the possession of the handsome dark-haired man, who quickly checked his phone in his pocket.

"Oh no. no-no-no-no-no! this is bad; this is very very bad!"

The twins looked up at him anxiously as they panted for breath. If the cops were somewhere close-

"They just can't get my nose right!" The handsome man shoved the phone screen in front of their noses.

On the screen was a news article with a headline "A DARK DAY IN CORONA'S SUNNY HISTORY: POLICE CONTINUE PURSUIT OF WANTED CRIMINALS THROUGH ROMANIA FOR THEFT OF THE CORONIAN ROYAL JEWELS."

And beneath this with the caption of "Internationally notorious thief Flynn Rider (Artist's Impression)" was what would have been a very accurate drawing of the handsome man's face…except that it had a bulbous nose, instead of his clean straight one.

Beneath this were mugshots of the two red-haired twins (captioned the Stabbington Brothers) both looking even gaunter and terrifying than usual as they glowered out of the picture at the camera. Even more threatening was the snarl that one of the brothers now gave Flynn as he shoved the phone away.

"Who cares!"

"Well, that's easy for you to say. You guys look amazing" Flynn sighed enviously, only to stiffen in his spot as something rustled behind him.

He looked around nervously.

Was it just him or had he seen a shadow on the nearby tree?

 _And when did the light here suddenly get so dim?_  He wondered to himself as he looked up to the now suddenly grey sky through a break in the trees. There had been such a clear blue sky when they'd been driving, with no hint of a cloud for miles. How on earth did it look like it was going to rain?

"We should get moving," One of the Stabbington brothers said nervously, eyes darting to the dark and ominously tall treetops above them. "This place is creepy."

"yeah…creepy" Flynn agreed and quickly the three of them began running again.

As they ran, they were spurred on by more rustling noises from the bushes around them.

"You think it's the cops?" the brother with the eyepatch grunted as they leapt over a fallen log.

"Cops? Nah. More like wolves" the other brother smirked as Flynn's face paled.

"Wolves? Boys trust me I don't think they're wolves in this forest-whoa" Flynn hissed as they slowed down to a stop before a tall wall of stone.

It was high and grey and seemed to be etched with strange runes that seemed to shiver in the dim light. But none of the men noticed that as Flynn turned to face them.

"Alright. Okay. Give me a boost, and I'll pull you up!"

The Stabbington Brothers both chanced a small glance.

"Give us the satchel first" the one without the eyepatch held out a giant threatening hand, much to their companion's most profound offence.

"Wha-I just-I can't believe that after all we've been through together you still don't  _trust me_?"

The brothers just stared at him blankly.

"Ouch" Flynn scowled but handed over the satchel to them.

They were quick to hoist him up, one brother having to stand on the other's shoulder so that Flynn could reach the top.

"Oh-sorry-pardon me I'll just-thank you!" Flynn smirked as he clambered above the wall and secured himself.

"What are you waiting for? Help us up pretty boy!" the brother on the top demanded.

But Flynn just smirked.

"Sorry guys, but my hands are full."

He held out the brown satchel.

The brother's eyes widened as they both looked at themselves, patting themselves down vigerously. But the satchel wasn't on them.

They looked back up again, their faces contorted with rage as they saw that both the man and the satchel he was holding had vanished from sight.

"RIDER!" the brother on top yelled, his voice shaking him and his brother so much that they fell on a heap to the ground, neither of them noticing the darkening of the skies above them…or the shadow that crept up behind them.

"that little bastard! That miserable treacherous little-WHAT?!" the twin with no eyepatch yelled to his brother whose mouth was opening and closing as he pointed to something behind his back.

His face was so pale…so clammy…so terrified….

His brother turned around slowly, and his face too fell into horror…

He opened his mouth and screamed as the dark shadow roared behind them.

* * *

"Jack! There you are we were worried."

Jack barely had time to blink as he came through the tunnel with Bunny, as the green and pink buzzing form of Tooth came charging straight into him, along with several small hummingbird-like fairies.

"Hey Tooth" Jack winced as returned the hug with one arm, smirking as Bunny was also treated to a bone-crushing squish by the Tooth Fairy.

"North and Sandy are in the Globe Room now talking with him," she whispered excitedly at Bunny as she let him go.

"Ah, so the blighter  _finally_  woke up did he?" Bunny grumbled folding his arms "And his fire-breathing pet?"

"Yes, he's there too. Wouldn't leave his side for one second. Bless him" Tooth simpered. "But then again if my best friend and I nearly crash-landed in a blizzard I'd be pretty worried too."

"Okay I think I'm missing something here" Jack frowned hands on his hips. "Who's this new guy?"

"Emissary from Father Time" Bunny grunted as he made to hop behind Tooth and a Yeti that had come to greet them.

"Father Time, but why would-oh hey Phil-why would Father Time send a messenger? Is it Pitch?" Jack frowned as he flew behind his fellow guardians up a set of stairs.

"We don't know. And quite frankly I don't think the messenger knows either." Tooth explained grimly "North's reading through Time's message now, so hopefully, that might answer some question-"

"Whoa what the hell?!" Jack cried out in alarm as they finally stepped up onto the Globe Room platform.

On it, North and Sandy were standing and talking, equally grim expressions on their face as they addressed a young man. He was tall and lean, with a mop of shaggy brown hair with two small braids behind his right ear. He was wearing brown pants and a tunic under dark leather armour with a red dragon emblazoned on the right shoulder. Over his body various straps held different knickknacks together, the most prominent being a strange prosthetic metal peg leg that clunked audibly as he shifted his weight between his feet.

But it wasn't the peg leg that had Jack staring wide-eyed in a mixture of awe and terror.

It was the humungous jet-black mass of scales, claws and leathery wings that was staring him down behind the man.

"D-d-dragon?!" he gulped finally catching the attention of North, Sandy and the stranger as he gaped at the creature.

"Ah Jack you're here" North boomed delightedly striding forwards just as the dragon began cautiously padding its way up to Jack with a pair of big curious catlike eyes.

"Yeah-no. Sorry not gonna happen" Jack yelped as he quickly leapt up into the air. The mysterious peg-legged young man rushed rapidly forward.

"Whoa-whoa down Bud, down! Give him some space. Sorry about that he's just curious" he apologised to Jack who tried bravely to grin but failed miserably.

"Of what? How he can roast me or eat me?"

"Now-now, Jack don't be silly," North chuckled amusedly, as he tugged on Jack's pants to bring him back down to earth. "Toothless is perfectly safe."

"He doesn't seem that harmless or toothless to me" Bunny muttered under his breath as the dragon, Toothless suddenly yawned wide revealing a set of razor-sharp teeth. He looked balefully at the peg-legged man beside him who scratched the top of his head before holding a hand out to Jack.

"The name's Hiccup. And this is my Nightfury, Toothless; we work for Father Time."

"Jack Frost" Jack shook Hiccup's hand still eyeing Toothless with a mixture of awe and fear. He could practically feel the fire in the great beast's belly as those wide cat-like eyes looked him up and down suspiciously.

"Uh…I don't think your scaly friend likes me too much?"

"Gee I wonder why?" Bunny muttered under his breath, only to be elbowed hard in the ribs by North who smiled.

"Do not vorry Jack; he'll warm up to you soon. Dragons are quite sociable, friendly creatures when you get used to them. And while ve're on the topic of creatures, you might vant to hear this" North's voice was now stern and severe as he ushered them all to stand in a circle.

"Now most of you already know about zis, but for Jack's sake, I'll explain it all again. Ve have received vord from Father Time that there has been sightings of fearlings in Dracula's Dark Kingdom."

"Dracula's Dark Kingdom?" Jack snorted, smirking with amusement at his fellow guardians "As in  _the_ Lord Dracula? The  _I vant to suck your blood_  vampire?"

"Is there any other Count Dracula you know of?" Bunny glowered, ears flat by the sides of his head.

Jack's grin faltered for the Pooka's ears only went flat if the situation was deadly serious. And right now, he did not seem to be in a joking mood.

"Right…so you got a message about this Count Dracula and his magic Kingdom."

" _Dark_  Kingdom." Hiccup corrected him with a quirked brow. "and yeah it's not looking too good."

"Why? What happened?"

"Uh…vell…how do I explain this" North stroked his beard "Zis Dark Kingdom is vhat you might call…a prison?"

"A prison?" Jack frowned, his feet lowering back down to the ground. "For who?"

"Who do you think?" Bunny scowled as Sandy started to conjure up sand projections above his head.

One of them was easily recognisable as the profile of a very familiar bogeyman.

"Wait, is this where the Man in the Moon sent Pitch? This Dark Kingdom?" Jack leaned on his staff as he squinted at the dreamsand images.

"Yeah. I mean, there's not many places you can imprison a bogeyman" Tooth shrugged, though he could see the anxiousness in her purple eyes as she flitted over to Norths giant globe.

"It's a place where we hold all the evil spirits that try to destroy everything. Let's see; it should be roughly around…ah yes-here!" she pointed to a point somewhere over eastern Europe.

"Transylvania? You're kidding" Jack laughed as he read the label of the country.

"Nope. Dracula does live in Transylvania" Hiccup shrugged as he leaned against Toothless's side. "except most humans don't know it exists because it's hidden within a powerful magic barrier, like all the great spirit strongholds."

"So, if this barrier is so powerful, then what's wrong? Does Dracula want to break out or something?" Jack's frown deepened in confusion.

Sandy shook his head, along with North who sighed.

"No, he does not, and thank heavens for zat. No Lord Dracula is quite happy to rule over his domain on his own. However, his servants have been giving disturbing reports about Fearlings being sighted in his lands, running rampant and killing off other inhabitants."

"Fearlings?"

"Shadows that are the manifestations of the fear or evil in people's hearts" Bunny's voice was hollow, and his face was gaunt. "They devour all good and happiness from their victims before eating them as well. They are especially fond of the souls of children. We got rid of most of them when we first defeated Pitch those hundred or so years ago. But some say that they remain hiding in the darkest pits of the underworld, peeping out whenever they are hungry and can get a hold of a good kill. But back when I was but a young kit myself, there were a lot of them roaming the Earth."

The Pooka shuddered.

"They are far worse than anything Pitch's Nightmares ever were and far harder to beat down."

"So…how do we destroy them?" Jack murmured shakily. He couldn't believe he was only hearing of these creatures now. As a relatively young spirit of three hundred years old, he had never had the misfortune of ever meeting one, and quite frankly he hoped he never would.

"You can't." Hiccup grunted "They're creatures made from pure fear. They can't be destroyed unless Fear itself is destroyed and that can't happen because it would upset the balance."

"Zat is why they were imprisoned in the Dark Kingdom." North mumbled sombrely "If they cannot be destroyed, then at least they can be contained."

"Yeah, until we decided to imprison them along with the most powerful bogeyman in existence" Bunny muttered darkly.

There was silence following that grim announcement as each guardian and Hiccup all glanced around at one another.

Toothless the dragon purred softly as he nudged his head towards his rider's hand by his side.

"I know bud. I don't like the idea either" Hiccup petted the big scaly head next to him.

"What idea?" Jack gulped.

"Ve must go to the Dark Kingdom, and talk to Count Dracula." North murmured "Tell him vhat ve have learned and we must offer him our help. Pitch iz our enemy and ve are just as responsible for keeping him contained as the Count is."

"It won't be easy mate" Bunny folded his arms grimly "Vlad's pretty protective about his dominion. And we can't afford to go in guns-a-blazing. Halloween is coming up and after that it's Christmas and New Years, we can't risk losing anyone so close to the end of the year."

"Bunny's right," Tooth frowned "We can't all abandon our posts, especially if there's a chance Pitch might break out. The last thing we need is a repeat of last year when we've only just started getting back on track."

Sandy nodded vigorously as he projected dreamsand images of their previous fight against Pitch. Hiccup frowned as he caught sight of a dreamsand sculpture of Jack flying and blasting golden sand from a small staff.

"Well…what if you just sent Jack to the forest?"

"What-me?" Jack blinked in surprise, as he and everyone else turned to face the dragon rider.

"Why not?" Hiccup shrugged. "Unlike the others, you aren't tied to a specific holiday nor any one place, and actual winter is still a couple of months away."

"Zis is true" a smile crept up North's face, but Bunny's scowl darkened.

"Maybe…but…" he stroked his whiskers as he looked the winter sprite up and down "Dracula's a bit of a stickler for rules, and Frosty's not exactly good at stickin' to them."

"Uh hello! Guardian of Fun here!" Jack rolled his eyes "Can't have fun without a little mayhem right?"

"I don't know Bunny" North smirked ignoring the young sprite's declaration "Jack has shown great promise this past year."

"Promise maybe, but this isn't a walk in the park mate. This is the Dark Kingdom"

"I'm well aware of that Bunny, but if that is vat Man in Moon vants then who are we to stop it?"

"You guys do know I can hear you right?" Jack deadpanned but was steamrolled over by Tooth as she exclaimed excitedly.

"North's right, the belief in Jack Frost has definitely grown a lot this year" the tooth fairy looked to Sandy who was happily starting to project images of Jack moving about, fighting and playing with children "-and Sandy's right, Jack is ready to go on his first official mission now that he knows the ropes-"

"I haven't turned invisible, have I?" Jack sighed at Hiccup who shrugged.

"Dunno, you look pretty solid to me." the dragon rider deadpanned earning himself a snort from Toothless who had curled up like a giant cat a couple of feet away on the ground, seemingly bored with the conversation.

Jack groaned as he turned his attention back to the conversation before him. He loved his new friends, but sometimes it got on his nerves how much they saw  _him_  as a child. He knew he was the youngest spirit amongst them, but he was still three hundred years old. It wasn't like he was in his first century without a clue in the world.

"Alright-alright!" he called out his voice piercing through the small argument that was starting to heat up between Bunny and North "Since you're all so keen, I guess I could pop into this Magic Kingdom-"

"Dark Kingdom" Hiccup corrected him.

"Fine,  _Dark Kingdom_ " Jack rolled his eyes waspishly. "Anyways, I'll go and find out what's going on in Dracula's lair. Shouldn't be too difficult right?"

"Depends on what you define as difficult mate" Bunny frowned at the younger sprite, but Jack could see the worry behind those bright green eyes. "The Dark Kingdom ain't exactly the easiest place to get around if you don't know where you're going."

"Bunnymund's right" Tooth mumbled, exchanging a worried glance with a couple of her mini tooth fairies. "Very few spirits have the authority to come and go out of the Dark Kingdom, and they're mostly bounty hunters. Of course,  _we_  as guardians are also allowed to visit but…umm…"

"But what?" Jack frowned as Sandy put a consoling hand on the anxious fairy's shoulder. "You guys don't know any Bounty Hunters?"

"Let's just say they aren't exactly the most friendly blokes" Bunny grunted glancing at North who nodded gravely.

"Da, Bunny's right. Hunters can be rather nasty when it comes to their profession. Best to keep our distance and let them do their jobs."

There was a small pause as Toothless suddenly perked his head up and purred at Hiccup, nudging him with his nose.

"What is it bud?" Hiccup frowned at his dragon who began grunting and snuffling at a small metal triangle bound on a little black chain around his leather belt.

"No. No way. That's out of the question." Hiccup looked down at the piece of metal and sighed heavily.

"What is?" Jack smirked interestedly as the other young man's lightly freckled face suddenly turned beet red.

"Uh…no one. Ow! Toothless!" Hiccup pushed at Toothless's head, but the Nightfury let out a whine as he pawed and nuzzled at the small triangular piece of metal insistently.

"Alright, alright you've made your point" the dragon rider grumbled folding his arms and pouting as he caught sight of the raised or quirked eyebrows being sent his way.

"Okay…I might know a guy..."

* * *

"There, that should do it. Phew!" Flynn Rider panted with exhaustion as he came to a stop.

He appeared to be in the middle of a dark, dense forest. The air around him was exceptionally stuffy as the canopy above was tight and blocked off nearly all the light from the constantly overcast skies above his head.

He straightened up and dusted off his pants as he looked around the dark trees in front of him. Maybe it was just the dim light playing tricks on him, but he thought he had seen a shadow amidst the trees.

"Uh…hello?" he called, and suddenly he wished he hadn't as his voice echoed loudly all around him.

_Hello…hello…hello…_

"Well that wasn't creepy at all" he muttered to himself. It was partially out of habit but mostly to help himself push down the sudden dread creeping into every pore of his skin, which was now slightly damp with sweat.

_Just what is this place?_

He wondered as he pulled out his phone from his satchel only for his face to turn the colour of parchment as he saw he had no signal.

"Damn-guess I'll have to go back the way I came." he turned around to face the way he had come, only to come face to face with a large dark leaved bush behind him.

_That's odd. I could've sworn that wasn't there before._

Come to think of it, which way had he come from. With the dense canopy above he couldn't even make out where the sun was.

"Hmm, let's see. Maybe if I climb a tree I can see if-AGH!" he cried out as a spider the size of his phone crawled dangerously close to his hand.

"Alright, Flynn Rider. No need to panic, stay calm. Just stay calm. It's just a spider. Just a big hairy horrible spider" he gulped as he eyed the arachnid that was quick to scuttle up the tree towards a great spiderweb woven just above his head.

It didn't help the thief's mounting dread as he caught sight of the small half-eaten corpses of birds and squirrels bound tightly in spider thread amidst the intricate silvery white lattice.

"Yes, quite nasty isn't it?"

Flynn almost leapt about a foot into the air with a very high-pitched yelp away from the hissing voice that had suddenly spoken into his ear.

"Who's there! Show yourself" he bleated spinning around to face his attacker. But all he found around him was trees, trees and more trees as the malicious chuckles filled the air, chilling him right down to the bone.

Just what hellish nightmare had he walked into?

He was almost ready to piss himself as he spun around this time spotting the source of the laughter hidden amidst the top branches of a tree.

It was the silhouette of a man, tall, dark and slender. Flynn couldn't see much of his face, but he could see the small glimmer of two catlike yellow orbs amidst the darkness above.

"Hello  _Flynn Rider_ " the voice sneered. "Long time no see."

"Uh…do we know one another?" Flynn gulped, backing away from the tree as the figure slid down a branch towards him, still bathed in shadows. It seemed to be made more from smoke than actual solid flesh and bone.

"You did once. Though it has been a long while since I last saw you. A very long time indeed." The voice snorted nonchalantly as if it were talking about the day's dismal weather.

"A long time ago huh?" Flynn spoke, doing his best to inject some much-needed bravado into his trembling voice. "Let me guess? Paris? Taipei? New York…uh…Miss Koo's Dry-cleaning?" he gave a sheepish chuckle as the dark shadow smirked down at him.

"hmm-hmm. Nope guess again."

"Uh…" Flynn bit his lip anxiously.

He had never seen this figure before in his life, so why did it feel so familiar?

"Honestly you humans truly have such short memories" The shadow tutted impatiently, yellow eyes narrowing down at him as he hissed. "Sunny Street Orphanage, nineteen years ago. A little boy would huddle up in his bed with a book his daddy wrote for him before he left him all alone."

"W-Wait how do you know about that? Just who the hell are you?!" Flynn swallowed heavily, a shiver running down his spine as the shadowy figure suddenly slid down to the base of the tree and straightened up.

His skin was grey, and he had slicked back spiky black hair. He wore a dark robe that seemed to slither over the ground as a pair of slender grey hands dusted them off, his catlike yellow-silver eyes glimmering.

"My name is Pitch Black, and I've come to offer you a deal Flynn Rider. Or should I say, Eugene Fitzherbert?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah that's chapter two. In this Fic, Flynn's a 21st-century thief who stumbles unwittingly into the world of spirits. I gotta admit it was fun finding ways for modern tech to mix with Tangled's original plot (like his phone and his artist's impression on the digital news). Apart from that and modernising his clothes a bit, I don't think I'll make him stray too far from the original version...at least not now at any rate.
> 
> It was also fun finding ways to bring Hiccup/Toothless into the picture. They're both emissaries of Father Time who work with him in his workshop. I wanted to deviate away from the usual ROTG interpretations of our favourite dragon and his rider as being the spirits of autumn or something, and I figured hey if he weren't an autumn spirit he'd enjoy a position where he gets to tinker with machinery and stuff.
> 
> Then there's Seraphina, my OC, Gothel's other "daughter". She's a bit of a mystery, but I won't say any more on her for now ;)
> 
> Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed and please review your thoughts if you want more.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> FuzzyBeta


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